Reporter investigates the chaotic sales of health care products in the live broadcast room
The anchor exaggerates the therapeutic efficacy of health products and cheats consumers
● There are many live broadcasts that exaggerate and deify the efficacy of ordinary products, causing viewers to mistake them for health products. Some anchors imply that health foods have therapeutic effects when promoting them.
Some buyers listened to the anchor's propaganda, and after buying it, they found that not only did it not work, but it delayed the treatment time.
● When promoting and introducing health products, anchors who have obtained corresponding qualifications should truthfully and accurately introduce relevant information about health products, and cannot promote content that contains assertions or guarantees indicating efficacy and safety, and cannot promote content that has functions related to disease prevention and treatment. content, nor can it be compared with medicines or other health foods.
In addition, it should also be reminded that health food cannot replace drug treatment
● For merchants selling health care products, the platform must strictly review whether they have the corresponding qualifications. If false and exaggerated publicity is found, measures such as stopping the broadcast and taking off the shelves should be taken in a timely manner; regulatory authorities need to increase daily supervision and strictly investigate and deal with health care products False and exaggerated propaganda and other violations of laws and regulations, if the circumstances are bad, must be publicly exposed, and included in personal integrity records according to law, and joint punishment for dishonesty will be strengthened
□ Reporter Han Dandong
□ Our newspaper intern Guan Chuyu
"Are you embarrassed by the bad smell in your mouth when you communicate with others? Now there is a popular product 'Qingyou Guardian' candy, which is made of pure plants and traditional Chinese medicine ground into powder and compressed. It can remove bad breath, is safe and has no side effects, and can also regulate Spleen and stomach..." On a live broadcast platform, an anchor was enthusiastically introducing the product, and specifically emphasized the product's "spleen and stomach conditioning function".
Some viewers asked: "Can Helicobacter pylori be eliminated?" The anchor replied: "Well, this fan understands what I mean."
According to the product details page, buy 3 get 2 free of this product, a total of 88 yuan; buy 2 get 1 free, a total of 58 yuan; a single bottle is 29.8 yuan.
The page also introduces the ingredients and efficacy of the product in detail, especially what Helicobacter pylori is, and emphasizes that "the poor prognosis of this disease is gastric cancer".
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" recently watched several live broadcasts and found that there are not a few live broadcasts that exaggerate and deify the efficacy of ordinary products so that the audience mistakenly think they are health care products. Calcium tablets, etc., and hinted at the audience that their food has healing properties.
However, according to the relevant regulations, medical treatment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, pesticides, veterinary drugs, health food, formula food for special medical purposes, and other goods and services that should be reviewed in advance for advertisement release in live webcasting marketing activities are not suitable for advertising. Webcast marketing.
Why are health care products so popular in the live broadcast room?
What is the violation of wanton exaggeration of product efficacy?
How should such phenomena be regulated?
With these questions, the reporter conducted an interview.
Exaggerating the efficacy of common foods
Misleading and deceiving buyers
"We are vitamins extracted from compound fruits and vegetables. They are food-grade vitamins without any side effects. If you have hair loss, oily hair, frequent skin peeling on your hands and feet, poor sleep, etc., you can take pictures directly. After eating can all be improved.”
Recently, Ms. Ou from Shantou City, Guangdong Province watched the live broadcast and saw that the anchor was hard at work promoting a certain brand of "Blood Orange Complex B Vitamin Chewable Tablets". The comments scrolling in the live broadcast room also praised the efficacy of this product.
Combined with her love of hair loss, Ms. Ou bought 3 bottles without hesitation.
After receiving the goods, she began to take them according to the instructions, but she started to have stomach pains less than 10 minutes after eating each time.
"At first I thought I was eating the wrong thing, but after repeated confirmation several times, I found out that it was a problem with this vitamin." Ms. Ou said, she went to the store of the brand to check the relevant reviews, only to find that many people commented that they took it. After taking the "multi-dimensional taurine" of the same brand, he vomited, had abdominal pain, and developed rashes all over his body, and went to the hospital for emergency treatment; some people also claimed that they had adverse reactions after taking the "blood orange complex B vitamin chewable tablets" sold in the store, such as stomach Pain, shortness of breath, allergies, etc.
The reporter searched for "health care products" on the live broadcast platform, and related products of this brand came into view, and many anchors in the live broadcast room were selling products of this brand.
Moreover, its product price is much cheaper than that of products with the same effect sold in regular pharmacies.
Taking the brand "Blueberry Lutein Ester Tablet Candy" as an example, the anchor said that "it can be used by those who use too much eyes, and two tablets a day can replenish the required lutein." The 4 bottles of 144g only cost 69 yuan ; and the reporter bought a 30g bottle of health food lutein capsules at an offline pharmacy for 69 yuan.
The reporter noticed that, in addition to the above-mentioned products, other products sold by the brand, such as multidimensional taurine, vitamin C chewable tablets, nicotinamide chewable tablets, etc., do not have the "blue hat" logo, and there is no indication in the product description health information, etc.
However, when the anchor introduced these products, he claimed that they have the effects of lightening spots and acne marks, removing wrinkles, replenishing collagen, reducing hair loss, and improving resistance.
The reporter asked in the comment area, why do these products have so many functions but do not have the "blue hat" logo?
The other party replied that these products are not health products, but food-grade vitamins, or nutritional supplements.
It is understood that there must be a "blue hat" logo on the packaging or label of health food.
There is an "approval number" under the "blue hat", such as "Guoshijianzi G××××××××" and so on.
In addition, the health food packaging must indicate the name, net content and solid content, ingredients, functional ingredients, health effects, suitable people, eating methods, date marking (production date and shelf life), storage methods, implementation standards, and the name of the health food manufacturer. And address, health permit number.
The standards for health food and general food are also different.
The reporter found that the brand's "Blueberry Lutein Ester Tablet Candy" only had a food production license number, and the implementation standard number was "SB/TI0347".
According to the reporter's verification, this is the implementation standard of the country's tableted candies, and this standard is also applicable to ordinary candies sold in supermarkets.
During the interview, the reporter found that there are still many products that disguise ordinary food as health care products and sell them in the live broadcast room, such as "Ejiao Bird's Nest Original Protein Tablet Candy", "Collagen Drink", "Probiotic Capsules", "Enzyme "" Black wolfberry puree" and so on.
The anchors often use expressions such as "detoxification and beauty", "prevention of alopecia areata", "regulation of the stomach", "improve immunity", "maintain healthy eyesight", "relieve skin aging", "rich in collagen", "speed up metabolism" and other expressions to promote, so that consumers Misunderstanding that these common foods have special health benefits.
If the anchor exaggerates the efficacy of ordinary food, making consumers mistakenly buy it as health care products, is it illegal?
The reporter interviewed Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society.
Chen Yinjiang bluntly said that such behavior of the anchor is suspected of violating multiple laws.
"If the anchor exaggerates the efficacy of ordinary food and makes consumers mistakenly think it is a health product, this situation is suspected of false publicity and infringes on consumers' right to know and right to choose." Chen Yinjiang said that the Consumer Protection Law stipulates that operators must submit The information provided by consumers on the quality, performance, use, and expiration date of relevant goods or services shall be true and comprehensive, and false or misleading publicity shall not be made; in addition, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law also stipulates that operators shall not The performance, function, quality, sales status, user evaluation, honors received, etc. make false or misleading commercial propaganda to deceive and mislead consumers.
Wanton sales of health food
suggestive of healing properties
There are also many anchors selling health care products in the live broadcast room, suspected of deliberately exaggerating their efficacy.
On a live broadcast platform, an anchor declared when selling Angelica Astragalus Iron Skin health products: "This health product can replenish qi and blood. If you have trouble sleeping at night, come to your aunt with pain and the amount is small, cold hands and feet, and severe hair loss, etc. , you can eat all of them, and you can see significant improvement after eating for two months."
The reporter noticed that the anchors who sell this kind of health products usually describe the specific conditions when introducing the uses, such as cold hands and feet, difficulty sleeping, hair falling out, pale complexion, getting up confused, fatigue and other symptoms, they can eat it, and clearly stated If the above symptoms occur, they can be significantly improved after taking this kind of health care product, which implies the therapeutic effect of the health care product.
However, on the product details page, the health function of such health products is only to improve iron deficiency anemia.
On another live broadcast platform, an anchor was selling a health product called "××× Huangpu Fuling Capsule".
This health product not only has the "blue hat" logo, but also the batch number of Guoshijian.
"If you have yellow tongue coating, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea, stomach pain, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, etc., you can take a 6-pack and take it home." The anchor said when introducing the product.
Many people left messages in the comment area of the live broadcast room, saying, "It is really useful for treating flatulence", "I have a slight injury to the gastric mucosa, and I feel very good after using it for a cycle", "I feel much better than before after eating two bottles", etc.
The reporter saw on the product details page that the function of the health product is to assist in the protection of the gastric mucosa.
But the anchor introduced in the live broadcast room that the health product can treat stomach problems.
Because of this, some consumers think they are buying medicines for stomach problems.
Mr. Zhang from Tianjin bought this product in this live broadcast room.
At first, when he listened to the anchor's introduction of the product's efficacy, he found that it was very suitable for his symptoms, and he heard that it could be "cured", so he bought 6 bottles.
After receiving the goods, he found out that what he bought was only health care products. "I heard from the anchor that it was stomach medicine. After eating it, it had no therapeutic effect at all. It also delayed the treatment and was miserably cheated."
The reporter saw in the product review area that there are many people who have similar experiences with Mr. Zhang. Some people commented that "after receiving the goods, they found that they were not medicines at all, but health care products." , insist on taking it, and look forward to improvement."
In addition to health care products being exaggerated by the anchor, some traditional Chinese medicine powders are also emphasized in the live broadcast room.
In a live broadcast room, an anchor was promoting a "Ganoderma lucidum spore powder". He introduced that "This product is Changbai Mountain red Ganoderma lucidum + spore powder with a wall-breaking rate of 98%, which greatly enhances immunity. I ate this for a cold, and the second The sky will be fine, for parents, grandparents, must stock up. Now immunity products are skyrocketing.”
Du Leqi, director of the Economic Law Research Society of Jiangsu Law Society and associate professor of Jiangsu University Law School, believes that the phenomenon of anchors promoting the therapeutic efficacy of health products is suspected of violating the Food Safety Law and Advertising Law.
"The Food Safety Law stipulates that the content of health food advertisements should be true and legal, and must not contain false content, and must not involve disease prevention and treatment functions, and it should state that 'this product cannot replace drugs'; Except for advertisements, any other advertisements are prohibited to involve the function of disease treatment, and shall not use medical terms or terms that may easily confuse the promoted products with medicines and medical devices. Advertisements for health care products shall not involve the functions of disease prevention and treatment, and shall clearly indicate that "this product It cannot replace drugs'." Du Leqi said.
Strengthen qualification review
Strengthen joint punishment for untrustworthiness
If the anchor has inappropriate behaviors such as exaggerating the efficacy of ordinary food or claiming that health products can treat diseases when selling, what responsibility should he bear?
Zhao Lijie, a lawyer from Beijing Yinghe Law Firm, said that according to the advertising law, if the anchor has the above-mentioned improper behavior when selling health products, the anchor or the company where the anchor works as the advertising operator will face confiscation of live advertising fees by the market supervision and management department, and An administrative penalty of not less than one time but not more than three times the advertising fee shall be imposed. If the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than three times but not more than five times the advertising fee shall be imposed. If the advertising fee cannot be calculated or is obviously low, a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than one million yuan shall be imposed. A fine of not more than RMB 100,000 yuan, and the relevant department may suspend the advertising business and revoke the business license.
Du Leqi added that if the anchor has the above-mentioned misconduct, it may also involve the risk of civil liability for infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
According to the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and other laws and regulations, if a merchant deceives or misleads consumers, provides products or services that are inconsistent with the live online shopping contract, and infringes the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, it shall be responsible for repairing, remaking, replacing, and returning the goods. , refunds, compensation for losses and other breach of contract liabilities.
If the anchor makes a promise to the product or service during the live broadcast, he should also bear joint and several liabilities with the merchant within the scope of the promise.
"The anchor should conduct preliminary verification of product information, avoid false publicity, and avoid recommending special products as much as possible. He can entrust a professional lawyer to review, improve the cooperation contract with the brand and pay taxes according to law. According to the Advertising Law, advertising The endorser's recommendation and certification of goods and services in advertisements shall be based on facts and comply with the provisions of this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations, and shall not recommend or certify products or services that he or she has not used or received. In addition, The anchor should pay attention to the compliance of advertising language during the live broadcast, and prevent false propaganda." Du Leqi said.
Chen Jiangyin also reminded that anchors who have obtained corresponding qualifications should truthfully and accurately introduce relevant information about health products when promoting and introducing health products. , the content of therapeutic functions, and it cannot be compared with medicines or other health foods.
In addition, it should also be reminded that health food cannot replace drug treatment.
The reporter found that in recent years, people's awareness of health preservation has been continuously enhanced, and more and more people have begun to favor health care products.
So, what should consumers pay attention to when buying health care products?
Zhao Lijie suggested: firstly, when consumers purchase health care products, they should put their minds right and clearly realize that health care products are food, not medicine. If they want to treat diseases, they should follow the doctor's advice; It is necessary to recognize the health food "blue hat" logo and registration number/record number on the product packaging, make scientific choices based on the health functions of health food, suitable groups of people, and unsuitable groups of people, and do not blindly trust anchors or offline salespersons Third, to buy from legal and formal offline stores or online official flagship stores, pay attention to check their food business licenses, and ask for invoices or sales certificates.
In view of the current chaos in the sales of health care products in the live broadcast, Chen Jiangyin believes that the consumption of health care products is related to the life, health and safety of consumers, and must be paid enough attention to by all parties.
"For merchants selling health care products, the platform must strictly review whether they have the corresponding qualifications, such as reviewing whether the merchants have qualifications such as food business licenses or medical device business licenses; increase daily supervision, and if false and exaggerated publicity behaviors are found , to take measures such as stopping the broadcast and taking off the shelves in a timely manner, and report to the relevant regulatory authorities. The anchor should strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations, truthfully and accurately introduce the information of health products, and must not advertise the efficacy of health products in violation of regulations to deceive and mislead consumers. The regulatory authorities must To strengthen the management of the chaos of live broadcast health products, it is necessary to intensify joint interviews, joint law enforcement, joint exposure, and joint punishment, and strictly investigate and deal with illegal and exaggerated health products such as false and exaggerated publicity. Records of personal creditworthiness, strengthen joint punishment of dishonesty." Chen Jiangyin said.
Zhao Lijie believes that in order to rectify the chaos of live broadcast health products and further create a good live broadcast environment, in addition to the coordinated efforts of platforms, anchors, and relevant departments, consumers should also shop rationally. Do the necessary research and screening, don't trust the introduction and promotion of platforms and anchors, and don't place orders blindly.
Comics/Li Xiaojun